“Most oncologists use needle biopsy, but it requires a lot of
experience to make the injection at just the right angle and depth to
collect the tissue sample without damaging vital organs like the lungs
and heart,” says Dr.
Devarajan, who has built a prototype to help train doctors in
laparoscopic methods for male hernias. It had to avoid damaging not only
organs but also key arteries and veins.

Venkat Devarajan, electrical engineering professor

“A laparoscopic hernia operation is a minimally invasive technique, and
patients recover much quicker and without as much pain. But it requires
precise angles and depths from the small incisions. While working with
this problem, I became interested in breast cancer and how to make the
whole process less painful.”

The
medical community liked the concept so much that the “Haptic Guidance
for Breast Biopsy System” received a concept grant from TxMED, a
collaborative research funding program in medical technologies.

The idea behind the system is simple. Once a mass is detected, use
either X-rays or ultrasound to pinpoint its location. Then create a
mechanical and electronic device that provides artificial resistance to
the physician’s fingers handling the biopsy needle unless the surgeon
follows the optimal path to push the needle toward the mass.

This blend of imaging and touch would create a “can’t miss” biopsy in
which the needle would bypass what Devarajan calls “zones of exclusion,”
artery or nerve areas.

“Basically, it would make the biopsy a much more automated process than
it is now,” he says. “With a bit of training, the inexperienced
physician, nurse, or physician’s assistant would be able to quickly do
the procedure with minimal pain to the patient.”

The haptic system also would double as a simulator, a training system for interventional radiology residents.

“Many physicians who have done the procedure many times without the
benefit of this kind of system do it very well,” Devarajan says. “But
they have trouble explaining or teaching how they do it. That doesn’t
help the less experienced doctor.”

The procedure eventually may help with kidney or liver problems, as
well as those in other parts of the body. Devarajan and his students
consider the research to be in the validation stage, a process that
includes consultations with medical professionals and even sociologists.